Harness-saddle.



F. G. HOOVER.

HARNESS SADDLE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. a. 1913.

1,133,560. Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

Wu; M I 311-190 mtoz t meozfaw j 7217?,4 Ham/e21 QM as? @M 1 THE NORRIS PETERS C0,. FHOTC-LITHQ, WASHINGTON. D Q

rrroia FRANK G. HOOVER, or ivnw BERLIN, OHIO.

HARNESS-SADDLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 3Q, 1215.

Application filed November 3, 1913. Serial No. 798,829.

TgaZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK G. HOOVER, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Berlin, in the county of Stark and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Harness-Saddle, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements 1n harness saddles and the objects of the improvement are to generally improve such saddles, to provide a saddle by which the backbone of the horse will be arched over without any bearing thereon, thus insuring the more perfect fitting of the padded portions and preventing chafing or other in ury to the horse over the vertebrae.

Further objects are to produce a strong, light, neat structure so made as to well withstand hard wear and in which the rain will not be able to enter the interior of the padding to cause injury thereto.

These objects, together with other objects apparent to those skilled in the art, may be attained by the construction illustrated 1n the accompanying drawings, although the invention may be embodied in other forms, the construction illustrated being chosen by way of example.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a top View of the central or tree portion of the saddle. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of said portion. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line 83 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4: is a vertical sectional view on the line 4.t of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the underside of the saddle arch. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the saddle arch and one of the pads connected thereto, the rein hook and arch-covering layer being omitted.

Throughout the several views similar reference numerals indicate similar parts.

More specifically describing the construction disclosed in said drawings, the numeral 1 indicates, generally, the arch member, preferably consisting of a metallic casting provided with the lateral attaching flanges 2 between which the arch proper 3 curves upwardly to span the backbone of the horse, as will be well understood from an inspection of Fig. 2. On the underside the arch member is provided with a continuous, smooth, curved surface 4: interrupted only by the central, square recess 5 from which the rein hook aperture 6 extends vertically through the arch.

On the upper surface the arch 3 is provided with the recesses 7 for the purpose of making the arch member light in weight, the transverse ribs 8 however being adapted to provide the necessary strength. At the side limits of the arch proper 3 the curved finishing ribs 9 extend in general front to rear direction and define the line of juncture between the flanges 2 and the arch proper 3, said ribs 9 being elevated considerably above the top surface of said flanges.

The front edge of the arch 3 intermediate the ribs 9 is preferably rounded as at 10, whereas at the back edge 11 of said arch is formed the integral back strap loop 12. The ribs 9 are extended forwardly and backwardly beyond the edges at 10 and 11, producing the integral closing fillets 13 and 14; at the front and back, respectively of the arch member. Between the front and rear edges at 10 and 11, however, the ribs 9 are of less height than the fillets l3 and 14:, being of a height equal only to the ribs 8. The flexible pad stiffening plates 15 are arranged with their upper ends overlying the flanges 2, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 6, and rivets 16 are employed to connect said stiflening plates to said flanges. Extending through the plates 15 and flanges 2 adjacent the ends of said flanges are the apertures 17, for the purpose hereinafter to appear.

The pad portion of the saddle on each side of the arch member comprises a lining 18, padding 19 and anchor plate 20, on top of which anchor plate is the pad back 21 which is connected around its edges to the lining 18 in the usual manner. Connected to the pad back 21 along its lateral margins 22 is the jockey 23, the upper and lower end edges of which, however, are not connected to the back 21. One of the pad stiffening plates 15 with the attaching flange 2 to which it is connected is inserted between the back 21 and the jockey 23 at its upper end, the upper end margin of said jockey being cut to the same curvature as the rib 9, against which rib it abuts, and the fillets 18 and 14 extending to the lateral attaching margins 22 of the jockey 23 and'filling the space between said jockey and back, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 6. Between the jockey 23 and back 21 at the lower end of said jockey is the attaching plate 24 for the bearer 25.

Extending over the top of the arch proper 3, lying upon the tops of the ribs 8 and intermediate the front and rear edges 10 and 11 is the arch-covering layer 26 which extends down for a distance over the upper end of the jockey 23. In the drawings I have shown the terrets 27 as extending through the ends of the layer 26' and through an aperture 28 in the jockey 23, also through the plates 15, attaching plate 24: and back 21 into a screw threaded aperture in the anchor plate 20. I have also shown the connecting screws 29 extending through the jockey, plate 15, attaching plate 24, pad back 21 and into the anchor plate 20, while the screws 30 extend through the layer 26, jockey 23, plates 15, flanges 2, back 21 and into said anchor plate. The parts of the arch member and pads being thus connected the rein hook 81 is connected by passing the stem 32 thereof through the layer 26 and aperture 6 and screwing the same into the nut 33 located in the recess 5, which is made of a size to counter-sink said nut so that no part thereof will project beyond the under-surface a of the arch memher;

A saddle constructed as described will thus not only be strong andsubstantial, but will present the arched over construction clearly illustrated in Fig; 2 wherein itwill be noted that the pads on the two sides of the horses back are separated by an. intermediate arch adapted to carry all weigh-t and strain entirely over and free of the vertebrae. Itwill be further noted that even in cases where the backbone of the horse is inclined to extend upwardly between the pads to a considerable extent, there will be no danger of chafing from any roughness of the arch as the nut 33 does not project beyond the general under-surface 4. Moreover, in use it will be noted that the interior of the structure is well protected against the entrance of rain, as the layer 26' overlies the central portion oft-he upper end: margin ofthe jockey 23, while the fillets 13 and 14 fully close and cover the opening between the jockey 23 and back 21 at the edges of the layer 26 and protect the upper marginal edge of the jockey. 7

While the construction thus shown and described is the best form in which I have contemplated embodying my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the specific disclosure herein, as many changes maybe made as circumstances require or experience suggests without departing from the spirit of the invention, within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim c j 1. A harness saddle comprising a central, rigid, arched member, pad members at the two sides 01" said arched member and spaced from each other at their upper ends, each pad member comprising a pad and a jockey, the ends of said arched member arranged between said jockeys and pads, and a layer extending over said arched member and overlying the upper margins of said jockeys, said arched member and layer constituting the sole connection between said pad members at their upper ends;

2. In a harness saddle provided with pads and jockeys, an arched member formed of an integral, rigid casting and comprising an arched portion, integral flanges connected thereto and inserted between the upper ends of said pads and jockeys,and integral ribs formed on said arched member the lines of juncturebetween said arched portion and said flanges, extending beyond the general front. and rear-edges of said arched portion, forming closing filletsarranged between said pads and jockeys attheir upper ends adjacent the lateral margins thereof, closing the openings between said pads and joc eys and overlying and protecting the upper edges of said jockeys.

3. A harness saddle of the character described comprising spaced pads, each comprising a pad proper, a pad back connected thereto, a jockey overlying said pad back, connected thereto along its lateral edges, and having its upper edge free and spaced from said pad back, a central, rigid, arched member provided with flanges extending between said jockeys and pad backs and having finishing ribs extending forwardly and rearwardly and terminating in closing fillets extending'between the pad backs and jockeys adjacent the lateral edges'of the same to close the openings betweenthem adjacent said edges, an arch-covering layer over-lying said arched member, finishing ribs and upper edges of said" jockeys intermediatesaid fillets, and means on each side of said arched member connecting thepa'd,

pad back, flange, jockey and layer together.'

In testimony that I claim the above, I have hereunto. subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses FRANK e". Hooves.

Witnesses V D. M. YARMAN, A. A. Sworn.

Copies of" this patent maybe obtained. for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissicnerlof Patents,

Washington, D..0.' 

